Food & Drink

Tucked behind the hulking remains of Hausner’s, Snake Hill is everything that the Baltimore icon was not. It’s small, informal and basically has just one thing on the menu: sausage. “We saw the concept in places across the country,” says owner Rich Pugh, the onetime skateboarder who owns Johnny Rad’s …

Lovely Grano is branching from Hampden to Federal Hill (1043 S. Charles St.), while Abbey Burger Bistro, still a fave in Federal Hill, is expanding to Fells Point (811 S. Broadway). The Bun Shop, that quirky mix of eclectic décor and focused cuisine (just about everything on the menu is …

If you think about it, craft brewing may be today’s equivalent of 1980s and ‘90s garage bands: a ragtag crew getting together to make something they love. John Marsh and his pals—Roy Fisher, Jr., Bill Stevenson and others—have been messing with music and art for years. Turning a home brewing …

In even meatier news, 8Ball Meatball, a restaurant wholly devoted to—can you guess?—recently opened its doors in Fells Point. Paul Weitz, whose family owns a handful of franchises, including BGR and Nature’s Kitchen at BWI, was inspired by New York’s Meatball Shop, which opened its first of five locations in …

My favorite part of spring is the contrasts: the brisk mornings softened with sunny afternoons, the grays of winter fading into the warm colors of fresh gardens. This cocktail is a lovely, light divergence from the heavier cocktails of winter now past. The brightness of the deep-red, semi-sweet strawberries, complemented …

What were your early influences as a chef? I grew up in Florida, in a community with large Vietnamese and Thai populations. My parents had a friend from Laos who taught them to make lettuce wraps with Thai sticky rice and steamed chicken. I was used to Sriracha, fish sauce, …

Donna Crivello—yes, that Donna—has historically created restaurants where she herself wants to eat. Serene specialty coffee shops in the days when Starbuck was still just the mate in “Moby-Dick,” casual eateries with neighborhood appeal. Now she’s cooked up the restaurant of her dreams. Inspired by Crivello’s Italian heritage—and many trips …

John Sen bought Tortilleria Sinaloa, the diminutive Eastern Avenue taco shop (that has garnered plenty of “best of” accolades) in 2011 because he figured Mexican food was the next big thing. “People were trending more toward Chipotle and Qdoba than Subway,” reasoned the Subway franchisee, who had recently sold his …

When Craig Curbean and Dante Davis took on their first catering gig, they served pulled pork and pit beef, ham, salads, homemade bread, an array of desserts and alcohol. The tough experience—they were faced with non-functioning stoves—prompted the duo to find their own kitchen, and they opened the carryout-only Taste …

After a car drove headlights-first into Farmstead Grill last year, the property owners needed to, well, rebrand the space. And the cocksure Iron Rooster was more than ready to move in, opening its second location in less than a year. The breakfast-all-day concept is a good fit for the barn-like …